(Oct. 25 2011)– Despite what Mother Nature had planned, last weekend’s inaugural Louisiana Saltwater Series Fall Trout Tournament on Lake Pontchartrain was a huge success. Although high winds and the threat of bad weather kept overall turnout numbers lower than average, a remarkable 78 fish were tagged and released back into the wild.

The tournament, hosted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, allows teams to bring extra fish to the weigh-in, thus increasing the total number of tagged fish. Since its inception in 2004, over 38,000 speckled trout have been tagged through Louisiana’s Cooperative Marine Sport Fish Tagging Program. The program has been a cooperative project of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Coastal Conservation Association for seven years. However, tagging data on the species dates back to 1989.

Taking home the tournament’s top prize were Kris Robert and Benny Sanchez, with a two fish total weight of 5.64 pounds.

The Louisiana Saltwater Series will take the winter off before gearing up again in April of next year. The 2012 tournament schedule will be published later this year at www.lasaltwaterseries.com[4].

Sponsorships for the 2012 series are still available. The Louisiana Saltwater Series is 100 percent payout series, and all sponsorship dollars will directly support the series and the conservation based research it promotes.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is charged with managing and protecting Louisiana's abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.louisiana.gov on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ldwffb[5]or follow us on Twitter @LDWF.

For more information contact Ashley Wethey at awethey@wlf.la.gov (225) 765-5113.